Multiple needle skip-stitch machine



Jan. 9, 1962 J. L. CARD 3,016,029

MULTIPLE NEEDLE SKIP-STITCH MACHINE Filed Aug. 25, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 O m INVENTOR JOSEPH ZWl$ CHRD A'ITORNEY Jan. 9, 1962 J. L. CARD 3,016,029

MULTIPLE NEEDLE SKIP-STITCH MACHINE Filed Aug. 23, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INJENTOR JOSEPH LEW/5 CARD ATTORNEY Jan. 9, 1962 .1. CARD 3,016,029

MULTIPLE NEEDLE SKIP-STITCH MACHINE Filed Aug. 23, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 63 E mg \V/ l8 1* /4s ATTORNEY Jan. 9, 1962 J. 1.. CARD MULTIPLE NEEDLE SKIP-STITCH MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 23, 1957 FIG. 5

INVENTOR. JOSEPH. LEW/6 CARD United States Patent 3,016,029 MULTIPLE NEEDLE SKIP-STITCH MACHINE Joseph Lewis Card, Chattanooga, Tenn., assignmto Singer-Cobble, Inc., Chattanooga, Tenn., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 23, 1957, Ser. No. 679,824 Claims. (Cl. 112-79) This invention relates to a multiple needle tufting machine and more particularly to a tufting machine of the skip-stitch variety which will form a tufted design according to a predetermined pattern, and which is an improvement over US. Patent No. 1,984,330.

One object of this invention is to provide a multiple needle tufting machine which will form tufted designs in a base fabric according to the art of skip-stitching, whereby selected needles or groups of needles are withheld from penetration of the base fabric, while the remainder of the needles are permitted to pierce the base fabric upon each stroke of the needle bar, to form intricate tufted designs upon the base fabric.

Another object of this invention is to provide a multiple needle tu-fting machine for carrying out the art of skipstitching, operated by a pattern control means of simpler structure than pattern controls heretofore known.

A further object of this invention is to provide a multiple needle tufting machine for carrying out the art of skip-stitching, in which a novel electro-magnetically operated pattern control means is provided for actuating selected needles to form tufted designs in a base fabric.

Another object of this invention is to provide a multiple needle tuf'ting machine for carrying out the art of skip-stitching including a pattern drum for controlling electro-magnetic means of novel construction for inactivating selected needles to form intricate tufted designs in accordance with a predetermined pattern.

A further object of this invention is to provide a multiple needle skip-stitch tufting machine having means for automatically clamping yarn to a needle which has been rendered inactive and for automatically releasing the yarn when the needle is actively reciprocating.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a rear elevation of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlargement of the needle and needle locking mechanism in FIG. 2, with parts broken away;

FIG. 4 is a section taken along the lines 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged elevational section of a modification of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a section taken along the lines 66 of FIG. 5. I

Referring now to the drawings in more detail, a housing, generally designated 10, supports a main drive shaft 11. The main drive shaft 11 is driven by a motor 12 through a motor shaft 13, pulley 14, belt 15 and a driven pulley 1 6 fixed to the shaft 11.

Spaced along and fixed to the main drive shaft 11 are a plurality of needle stroke eccentrics 17. The eccentrics 17 are adapted to vertically reciprocate a needle carrier 18 through the eccentric straps 19 and push rods 20. Slidably mounted within the needle carrier 18 are needle bars 21 supporting needles 22.

Hooks 23 and cutters 24 are operated in timed relation with the reciprocation of the needle carrier 18 through conventional mechanism, not shown, linked to the main drive shaft 11, in a manner well-known to the art, in order to form cutting in the base fabric 25.

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG;

Base fabric 25 is fed across the bed plate 26 by means of front rollers 27 and 28 and rear rollers 29 and 30. The upper rear roller 29 is driven from the main drive shaft 11 through pulley 31, belt 32, pulley 33, reduction gear box 34 and roller shaft 35. The lower rear roller is driven from the upper rear roller 29 through the pairs of meshing gears 36 and 37. The opposite end from the driven end of the roller shaft supports a pulley 38 which drives the upper front roller 28 through belt 39 and a similar pulley and roller shaft, not shown, on roller 28. Rollers 27 and 28 are simultaneously driven by meshing gears, not shown, similar to gears 36.

All the apparatus described thus far is conventional in the art of multiple needle tufiting.

As best illustrated in FIG. 1, the needle carrier 18 is an integral bar extending substantially horizontally the length of the machine and supported at spaced intervals by the push rods 20. Thus, when the machine is operating, the needle carrier 18 has a continuous vertical reciprocating motion. The needle bars 21 are slidably supported in guide passages 40 of the needle carrier 18 for limited vertical movement. As best disclosed in FIG. 3, a recess 41 is formed in the upper portion of each needle bar 21. Mounted on top of the needle carrier 18 is a detent plate 42 engaging the recess 41 in each needle bar 21. The length of the recess 41 is approximately equal to the needle stroke in order to provide vertical reciprocating movement of detent plate 42 within the recess 41 without reciprocating the needle bar 21.

Also adapted to engage the recess 41 is a latch pin 43 horizontally slidable in a passage 44 of the needle carrier 18, and urged into engagement with the needle bar recess 41 by means of a spring 45. The end of the latch pin 43 may be pointed as at 46 to fit within notch 47 at the bottom of the recess 41. When the pointed end 46 engages the notch 47 in the recess 41- through the action of spring on latch pin 43, the detent plate 42 will fit snugly in the upper portion of the recess 41 to securely lock the needle bar 21 to the needle carrier 18. Pivoted or fixed to the rear end of the latch pin 43 is a connecting rod 48, which may be rigid or flexible. When the forward end of the connecting rod 48 is fixed to the rear end of the latch pin 43, as disclosed in FIGS. 2 and 3, the connecting rod 48 must be flexible to prevent the rod 48 from breaking during reciprocation of the needle carrier 18. If the forward end of the connecting rod 48 is pivotally connected to the rear end of the latch pin 43 by means, such as a pivoted joint or hinge-91 disclosed in FIG. 5, then the connecting rod 48 may be rigid or flexible. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the rear end of the connecting rod 48 is loosely attached or pivoted to the lower end of the bell crank 49 pivoted at 50 to a portion of the solenoid mounting plate 51 mounted on the rear of the housing 10. The rear end of the connecting rod 48 may be slidably inserted through a mating opening in the lower end of the bell crank 49 or may threadedly engage a tapped hole in the bottom of the bell crank 49; The portion of the connecting rod 48 extending through the hole in the bell crank 49 may be threaded to receive a nut 95. The other endof the bell crank 49 is similarly provided with anopening to receive the lower end of the connecting rod 52, which has an upper end extending through a similar opening in the lower arm of a second bell crank 53 pivoted at 54 to another portion of the solenoid mounting plate 51. The ends of the connecting rod 52 may be threaded to receive the nuts 96 and 97. The solenoid mounting plate 51 supports a plurality of solenoids, or electro-magnets 55, there being one solenoid for each needle 22. The aromature 56 of each solenoid is pivotally linked to the other. end ofthe bell crank 93 by means of the pin 98. Thus,

it is seen that as long as all the solenoids 55 are inoperative, each of the latch pins 43 will assume the solid line inactive position as the needle carrier 18 continues to reciprocate. Thus, the electro-magnetically actuated needles 22 will cease to form tufting in their respective areas'of the base fabric 25, to form a skip-stitching effect.

In order to assist the detent plate 42 in holding the needle bar 21 in a raised position when the latch pin 43 is withdrawn, a spring 57 of novel structure, as best disclosed in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, is fixed to a portion of the presser foot 58, encircles the needle 22 and bears against the bottom portion of the needle bar 21. The spring 57 not only serves to hold the needle bar 21 in an elevated position when inoperative, but it also provides a means for clamping the yarn 59 against the needle bar 21 when the needle bar is raised, and for unclarnping the yarn 59 when the needle bar lowered as disclosed by the dashed lines in FIG. 3. It will be noted that in the raised position of the needle bar 21, the portion of the spring 57 engaging the bottom of the needle bar is substantially flush, while in [the lowered position of the needle bar, the spring 57 is not flush with the bottom of the needle bar 21, but pivots about the rear edge 60 of the needle bar acting as a fulcrum to cause the front edge 61 of the spring 57 to spread away from the front edge of the needle bar 21 and unclamp the yarn 59. Yarn 59 may be fed to the needle 22, in any convenient manner such flexible. The forward end of the connecting rod 48 is pivotally connected to the rear end of the latching pin 43 by means of a pivotal joint or hinge 91, while the rear end of the connecting rod 48' is pivotally connected to the armature 56' by means of the pivotal joint or hinge 92. In this modification, solenoid mounting bracket 51' is mounted on the rear of the machine more nearly in a horizontal plane with the needle carrier 18 than the mounting plate 51. The solenoids 55 are preferably disposed in a pair of parallel rows with the solenoids in the rear being in staggered alignment with the solenoids in the front row, in order to permit free movement of the connecting rods 48', which are. pivoted to the armatures 56 of the solenoids 55' in the rear row.

asfrom an overhead creel, not shown, and through the V yarn guides 62 on the front of the machine.

By fixing the spring 57 in a lower position and by extending the front edge 61 slightly beyond the front edge of the needle bar 21 when the needle bar is in its lowered position, the front edge '61 will clamp'the yarn 59 against the needle 22, instead of the bottom of the needle bar, when the needle bar is in its elevated position.

A needle bar stop 63 such as that disclosed in FIG. 2, or of any convenient construction, may be supported above the needle bar 21 to limit the upward stroke of the reciprocating needle bar.

The solenoids 55 are actuated by a pattern control 'ineanssuch as that disclosed in the U .S. Patent No.

sheet 66 by means of a spring 78, as disclosed in FIG.

2. When the point of any contact finger 77 engages a recess 79in the pattern sheet, the spring 78 causes the butt 80.of: the finger 77 to engage electrical contact 81 to thereby :close' the circuit between'an external source of power, not shown, through leads 82 and 83 and cables 84 to the solenoids 55. As best disclosed in FIG. 1, recesses 79 are cutinto the pattern sheet 66 where areas of no stitchingare desired in thebase fabric 25. The tuiited areas in the base fabric 25 correspond to the solid portions of-ithe pattern sheet 66- t A modified form of the invention is disclosed in FIGS. 5 and 6 in which the solenoid armatures 56' are prefer .ablyfpivotally connecteddirectly to the latching pins 43 through connecting rods 48', which may or-m-ay not be The upper reciprocable locked position of the needle carrier 18, needle bar 21, needle 22,'latching pin 43, spring 45 and connecting rod 4 8' and the forward position of the armatures 56', are disclosed in solid lines in FIG. 5. The intermediate and lower reciprocable locked positions of the needle 22, the latching pin 43 and connecting rod 48' are disclosed in dashed lines in FIG. 5. ivioreov'er, the upper, intermediate and lower unlocked positions of the latching pin 43, connecting rod 43 and armature 56 are disclosed in dashed lines in FIG. 5. Because the armatures 56 are slidable in the solenoids 55', the front ends of the connecting rods 48' will travel in vertical lines with the reciprocating movement of the needle carrier 18. Thus the tendencyof the latching pins 43 to reciprocate laterally in the needle bar recesses 41 and the tendency of the rapid vertical reciprocation of the latching pins to intermittently com-press the connecting rods 48' are eliminated. I 7

As disclosed in its unlatched position in FIG. 5, the latching pin 43 will have a tendency to travel in a limited V are 90, because the armature56', in its withdrawn,

electro-magnetically held position, is not permitted to slidably reciprocate within the solenoid 55'. However, the stroke of the armature 56 is great enough to prevent the latching pin '43 from re-entering the needle bar recess 41 in any vertically reciprocable position when the needle bar 21 is unlatched by the actuation of the solenoid 55.

Although the clamping spring 57 is not disclosed in FIG. 5, it is to be understood that clamping spring 57 may be employed with the modification as disclosed in FIGS. 5 and 6 in the same manner in which it performs its identical functions in modifications of FIGS. l4.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

A pattern sheet 66 having recesses 79 cut therein to form the design desired on the base fabric 29, is mounted on the pattern drum 65; When motor 12 is started,.the

needle carrier 18 is rcciprocated to cause the needles 22,

whose needle bars 21 are locked to the carrier 1-8, to penetrate the base fabric 25 fed across the bed plate 26 by the rollers 27, 28, 29 and 30. Operating in synchronism with the needle carrier 18 are the hook 23 and cutter 24 which hook and cut the loops formed by the reciprocating needles 22 to form tufts in the fabric 25. As the pattern drum 65' rotates, groups of contact fingers 77 ed gage the recesses 79 in the pattern sheet to close the elec trical circuit 82, 83 and 84 through contacts and 81 to activate their respective solenoids 55, to automatically unlatch from the needle carrier 18 their corresponding needle bars 21 which are held in an inoperative elevated position by clamping springs 57. When the electrical circuit to a. selected group of solenoids 55 or 55 is closed, their armatures 56 or 56' are withdrawn through their respective linkages in FIG. 2 or FIG. 5, to pull the connecting rods 48 and 48' to the rear to withdraw the latching pins 43 from their respective needle bar recesses 41.

When a needle bar 21is in elevated position, whether latched or unlatched, the free end 61 of the corresponding spring 57 clamps the yarn 59 either against the bottom of the needle bar 21 or against the needle 22, depending on the'location of the spring 57. On the downward stroke of the needle bar 21, spring'57 is depressed until the front end of the spring 61 releases the yarn 59 and permits the yarn to be carried by the needle 22 through the fabric 25. In this manner the yarn 59 is supplied when needed and held in a clamped position where it does not accumulate or snarl or tangle when the yarn is not used.

It is submitted that this machine will make tufted fabrics of more intricate design, at a smaller cost and with less complicated mechanisms than those pattern tufting machines heretofore known.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention, without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a multiple needle sewing machine for tufting fabrics, a plurality of elongated needle bars, a carrier for said needle bars, means for reciprocating said carrier in the direction of the longitudinal axes of said needle bars, a locking pin for each needle bar, means for receiving each pin in slidable relationship within said carrier, said pin being adapted to engage and disengage said needle bar to latch and unlatch said needle bar to said carrier, a spring mounted on said carrier to bias each locking pin through said receiving means into latching engagement with its corresponding needle bar, a connecting rod for each locking pin, means for connecting one end of said rod to said pin, a solenoid for each needle bar, an armature slidable axially within each solenoid, pivotal means for permanently connecting the other end of said rod to said armature during energization and de'energization of said solenoid, and pattern control means for selectively energizing each solenoid to attract said armature whereby the energized axial movement of said armature is simultaneously transmitted through said rod to disengage said locking pin from said needle bar.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which said connecting rod is flexible.

3. The invention according to claim 1 in which the means for connecting said one end of the connecting rod to said locking pin comprises a pivotal joint.

4. In a multiple needle sewing machine for tufting fabrics, a plurality of elongated needle bars, a carrier for said needle bars, means for reciprocating said carrier in the direction of the longitudinal axis of said needle bars within predetermined limits, a locking pin for each needle bar, means for receiving each pin in slidable relationship within said carrier, said pin being adapted to engage and disengage said needle bar to latch and unlatch said needle bar to said carrier, a spring mounted on said carrier to bias each locking pin through said receiving means into latching engagement with its corresponding needle bar, a connecting rod for each locking pin, a pivotal joint connecting one end of said locking pin to said connecting rod, a solenoid mounted laterally from each needle bar, each solenoid having a longitudinal axis substantially normal to the axis of its corresponding needle bar and extending between the limits of reciprocation of said locking pin, an armature slidable axially within each solenoid, a hinge permanently connecting the other end of said connecting rod to said armature during energization and deenergization of said solenoid, and pattern control means for selectively energizing each solenoid to attract said armature whereby the energized axial movement of said armature is simultaneously transmitted through said rod to disengage said locking pin from said needle bar.

5. In a multiple needle sewing machine for tufting fabrics, a plurality of needle bars, a carrier for said needle bars, means for reciprocating said carrier, a locking pin for each needle bar, means for receiving each pin in slidable relationship within said carrier, said pin being adapted to engage and disengage said needle bar to latch and unlatch said needle bar to said carrier, a spring mounted on said carrier to bias each locking pin through said receiving means into latching engagement with its corresponding needle bar, a first connecting rod for each locking pin, means for permanently connecting one end of said rod to said pin, a solenoid for each needle bar, an armature slidable axially within each solenoid, an upper bell crank pivotally mounted on said machine, means for permanently connecting one arm of said upper bell crank to said armature, a lower bell crank pivotally mounted on said machine, and means for permanently connecting one arm of said lower bell crank to the other end of said first connecting rod, a second connecting rod permanently linking the other arms of said upper and lower bell cranks, and pattern control means for selectively energizing each solenoid to attract said armature whereby the energized axial movement of said armature is simultaneously transmitted through said bell cranks and connecting rods to disengage said locking pin from said needle bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 608,795 Richards Aug. 9, 1898 613,474 Richards Nov. 1, 1898 1,984,330 Boyce Dec. 11, 1934 1,984,331 Boyce Dec. 11, 1934 1,984,332 Boyce Dec. 11, 1934 2,423,607 McCutchen July 8, 1947 2,496,116 Boyer Jan. 31, 1950 2,496,117 Boyer Jan. 31, 1950 2,649,065 Casper Aug. 18, 1953 2,768,593 Lombard Oct. 30, 1956 2,782,905 Smith Feb. 26, 1957 2,784,689 MacCafiray Mar. 12, 1957 

